The Guardian: Meet the 23-year-old TB survivor taking on South Africa’s patent laws
Phumeza Tisile, co-author of the DR-TB Manifesto and XDR-TB survivor

“…The DR-TB Manifesto makes three demands: first, everyone should have access to testing and treatment for drug-resistant TB. Even though new rapid diagnostics are becoming more available, less than 20 percent of people with DR-TB are diagnosed — and in many countries, including South Africa, fewer than half of those diagnosed start treatment. Second, we need better treatments that have higher cure rates and are easier on patients. And finally, we need the international community to fully fund the fight against DR-TB. … Drug-resistant TB needs to be recognized as a public health emergency. We have demanded that governments take action, but there is much more work to be done. Until the situation improves, I will keep speaking out about the challenges that DR-TB patients face” (7/7).